UF child abuse expert dies

Jay M. Whitworth, M.D., a professor of pediatrics at the University of Florida College of Medicine - Jacksonville and a champion for children who are hurt and helpless, passed away suddenly this past weekend while in London on business.

Born May 11, 1938, in Pendleton, Ind., Dr. Whitworth resided in Jacksonville since 1969. He served for 27 years as director of Florida's first multidisciplinary child abuse assessment team in Jacksonville. He developed this concept into the statewide Child Protection Team system and led the program until 2004. He trained extensively within Florida, the United States and internationally on child abuse issues. Dr. Whitworth also served on a number of national child abuse committees and worked with the American Academy of Pediatrics in helping to develop the study and treatment of child abuse as a pediatric subspecialty. He introduced child abuse prevention to China and lectured in Colombia, England and Ireland.

Dr. Whitworth was the author of nine textbook chapters on child abuse and multiple other publications and co-authored the national guidelines for the evaluation of child physical and sexual abuse for the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics. For the past 10 years he was a national leader in the development of telemedicine for child abuse assessments.

Dr. Whitworth was a graduate of the Indiana University School of Medicine. He completed his pediatric residency and a fellowship in pediatric nephrology at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. He came to Jacksonville and was initially in private practice, but then joined the University of Florida-Jacksonville as chief of pediatric nephrology. In the mid 1970s he developed an interest in protecting children who were sexually and physically abused, which became his professional passion for the rest of his career.

He is survived by his wife, Aggie, of Jacksonville; his daughter, Megan, and her husband, Mark Meisner, of Jacksonville and Gainesville; and his son, Todd, and his wife, Elvisa Whitworth, of Gainesville. He was predeceased by his first wife, Karen Kerr Whitworth. He is also survived by his nieces, Lisa Hartman and Sarah Morris, and a beloved dog, Emma.

A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday at Oxley-Heard Funeral Home in Fernandina Beach. In lieu of flowers the family has requested that donations be made to the J.M. Whitworth Memorial Fund, 1650 Prudential Drive, Suite 100, Jacksonville, FL 32207. The proceeds will be used to help underserved and abused children.